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IC's gain dependent?

I have been auditioning a number of IC's of late. There is one in particular that I like a good deal but when I use this IC, it requires the application of a good deal more gain to achieve the same volume level as another (all else except the cable exchange being equal). This may be a dumb question, but does anyone have an idea why this would occur?
4yanx
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Well, if the tuner had an unusually high output impedance (possibly because of the variable-output feature's potentiometer?), a highish-capacitance IC could exhibit noticable HF roll-off in combination, and I suppose this could be heard as a reduction in overall level upon non-instantaneous A/B comparision...
sean
6,231 posts
 
There are some cables that have a VERY high series resistance and could literally result in a very noticeable volume drop. The first ones that come to mind are some Magnan's that run about 40,000 ohms ( if i remember correctly ) for a one meter pair. I don't think that this is what 4yanx is dealing with though based on the info provided. It simply sounds like he's experiencing a difference in tonal balance / loading that Z has mentioned.

One suggestion is to turn the "low volume" cables around. The bi-directonal diodes in them might be facing the wrong way : ) Sean
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marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
40000 Ohms are too extreame!!!
But the audiable level difference to the tens of kOhms load might start in range of high tens of Ohms or low-hundreds Ohms depending on input impedance of amplifier or next component which still too much. Even digital interconnect is rated 75Ohms.
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